Saturday, October 23, 2010

The Valley Studio: a Reunion and a New Web Site

[For many of us old-timers, the Valley Studio in Spring Green, Wisconsin was a formative part of our movement theatre education back in the late 1970s. Under the all-embracing leadership of Reid Gilbert, it brought together teachers and performers of mime, clowning, circus, dance, and physical theatre in a beautiful setting and supportive atmosphere. It is probably no accident that the two festivals that introduced American audiences to international movement theatre artists were also in Wisconsin: Lou Campbell'sInternational Mime Festivalat Viterbo College in Lacrosse (July, 1974) and FOAM, the Festival of American Mime, in Milwaukee (August, 1978). Now Reid is in New York for a reunion (see below) but also to help launch a web site recording the history and many individual stories of Valley Studio participants. You can check out the alpha version of the site here. And here is Reid's letter explaining these plans in greater detail... —jt]

Hello,

The internet allows us to find old friends and share experiences in ways that we would not have been able to imagine back in 1970. From 1970 - 1979, Valley Studio in Spring Green Wisconsin brought together a diverse group of talented people dedicated to studying and performing all disciplines of speaking and physical theater arts. Our goal is for all of us from those Valley Studio days to reconnect and share our memories on the common ground of our own web site.

As the founding director with several alumnae initiating this project, we are inviting you to view an early format of the Valley Studio website.

Our vision is to construct a site with the capacity to offer stories and memories , personal web pages and a directory. The website address is www.valleystudio.000php.com. In its current form you can view an early sample personal web page and instructions on how to submit your memories and photos for your future web page. Please do not concern yourself with the design of the page or the format. The formatting of all personal pages will be done by a professional webmaster and will be a very simple, basic design. This site is being constructed as a means for all alumnae to be in touch and to see what others have done or are doing now.

In order to launch this idea there is a Valley Studio gathering to take place in New York City on Sunday October 24, 2010 from 2 PM to 5 PM hosted by myself, Karen Flaherty and John Towsen. The location is Karen Flahertys home- 11 East 17th Street, 3rd floor. Home number is 212 741 9030. Please RSVP at home number or valleystudio.springgreen@gmail.com by Friday October 22.

Please join us and bring your questions, suggestions and mailing lists. Beverages and appetizers are welcome!

Feel free to reach me directly if you have any questions. I will be in New York October 21 through October 24 and can be reached at 212- 741- 9030.

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An Introduction...

[So this is what I wrote six years ago; more or less true!]

Ring around a rosie, a pocket full of posiesAshes, Ashes, we all fall down

Welcome to the All Fall Down blog, an exploration of all aspects of physical comedy, from the historical to the latest work in the field, from the one-man show to the digital composite, from the conceptual to the nuts & bolts how-to. Be prepared for a broad definition of physical comedy (mine!) and a wide variety of approaches. Physical comedy is a visual art form, so there’ll be tons of pictures and videos, but also some substantial writing and research, including scripts and probably even some books.

This blog is a result of me wanting to follow through on lots of unfinished research from the past 25 years. It’s made possible by a full-year sabbatical leave from Bloomfield College that will take me through August 2010. It’s also made more practical by the ease of Web 2.0 tools for managing and distributing content. I had envisioned a web site similar to this blog more than a decade ago, but never got too far with it because it was simply a lot more work. Now, no more excuses!

Just as this blog will be sharing lots of goodies with you free of charge, I hope you will share your knowledge and ideas with me. Feel free to comment on any of it, or to write me directly with your suggestions. Admittedly I don’t see this as a free-for-all forum on the subject of physical comedy. It’s my blog, I’m the filter, and it won’t be all things to all people. That being said, I hope it will bring together insights, information, and people, and encourage others to make their own singular contributions to the field.

I hope to be adding substantial and varied material to the blog on a regular basis, so check back often and be sure to check out previous posts. And finally, a thanks to all of you, past present, and future whose work contributes to our knowledge — and our fun. We are truly standing on the shoulders of giants.

— John TowsenNew York CItyMay, 2009

My Physical Comedy Qualifications

So if you don’t blink, you can see me doing a pratfall on the original 1957 CBS production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella(starring Julie Andrews, directed by Ralph Nelson, stage managed by Joseph Papp).

My Favorite PostsOkay, there are literally thousands of physical comedy blogs out there, but only one physical comedy blogopedia. Why list my favorite posts? Because I want to draw attention to my best research and writing, to posts that make the strongest connections between old and new, between theory and practice, between ha-ha funny and broader global issues. If I die tomorrow, which is impossible because it's already the day after tomorrow in Australia, these are the ones I would like read aloud at my funeral, with high-rez projection of all videos. (Is it bad luck to write that?) Also, please mention that I never voted for a Republican. —jt

Here are some useful and fun blogs and web sites that touch on the whole field of physical comedy, rather than just sites by performers about themselves (not that there's anything wrong with that). Click away!

For the latest posts from these blogs, see below. (Blogs only; not web sites.) These are automatically sequenced by Google in order of most current posts. The blog at the top of the list is the blog with the most recent post. Since the whole idea is to keep you (and me) up to date on current posts in the field, blogs that have not been posting regularly have been dropped from the list; if you've been dropped but are now posting regularly, just let me know.

Here's a list of complete books available for free as pdf documents right here on this here blogopedia, arranged in chronological order; dates are publication in the original language. Clickhere for a Tech Note on these books. Click on the book title to go to that post. More books coming!